


White New Years

by bertererei



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hospital as Backdrop, Incest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28456008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertererei/pseuds/bertererei
Summary: Zeke has been patiently waiting for a White New Years.
Relationships: Eren Yeager/Zeke
Comments: 4
Kudos: 80





	White New Years

**Author's Note:**

> Continuing on with my "2020 Bad Mood Go Away" Fes.
> 
> Warning: Modern Day AU. Incest. Usage of hospital as a backdrop, but beer virus is not part of this

**12/23**

“Eren! They’re predicting a White New Years!” Zeke exclaims in the middle of breakfast.

They have the TV on the weather channel so they can prepare for the day while they eat. Eren bites into his toast, nodding along to Zeke’s enthusiasm.

“But the weather looks too warm on the days leading up to it. It’ll be rain,” he says.

His brother makes a loud buzzer sound. “That’s where you’re wrong, Eren. It will snow this year for sure.”

But Zeke said that for the past four years, and they always had a rainy New Years that made it impossible to have fireworks. Eren doesn’t mean to crush Zeke’s hopes and wishes. But empirical evidence states that Zeke doesn’t have much leg to stand on.

“It’s different this year,” Zeke insists. “Zofia’s one wish she asked from Santa is a White New Years. As the one who has been chosen to be Santa this year, I will make her wish come true!”

Oh. It’s personal.

“You can’t control the weather, Zeke,” Eren reminds his brother.

Zeke stubbornly crosses his arms in front of himself. “They’re predicting snow. It will snow.”

Eren wonders how best to cheer Zeke up when it starts raining on New Years. This next year is going to start with a headache, isn't it?

Well, Eren has always been good at rising to the challenge. And if it’s to make his brother happy, then… Let’s just say that Eren is the master when it comes to that.

*

**12/25**

“Huh? New Years? Pfft! Yeah right! Like hell we’ll have a day off,” Jean scoffs. "We don't even get Christmas off."

Yeah, Eren had been afraid of that. It’s not like disease and injuries take a day off, so it makes sense that as interns, they won’t be allowed to, too. But just a bit, he kind of wanted to spend the whole day with Zeke. Because there’s absolutely no way that it’s going to snow this year.

“We’ll probably end up taking a few hours off at a time on rotate,” Thomas sighs. “The life of an intern is rough, isn’t it?”

Mina clicks her tongue. “It’ll be the same when we’re doctors. If this is too hard to survive, then this isn’t the career choice for you, Thomas.”

Hm? Just now, did Thomas stare at Eren? When Eren meets his eyes, Thomas flushes red and looks away. Is he not feeling well? If so, he needs to tell them now and not during shift when they need all hands on deck.

“Did you have something you wanted to do on New Years, Eren?” Marco asks.

What Eren wants to do with Zeke isn’t exactly something he can freely share at the work place.

Jean casually slings an arm around Eren’s shoulder with a sneering grin. “Ain’t it obvious, Marco? Eren wants to spend it with me!”

Mina, bless her soul, boos.

If they were younger, Eren has no doubts that Jean would’ve complained and gotten mad. But they’ve matured quite a bit since their high school days. Jean dramatically clutches his chest as if he’s been shot.

They laugh.

“I don’t have anything in mind,” Eren assures them. “But it would’ve been nice to spend it with family.”

The others let out soft sighs in understanding. Yeah. It’s too selfish to ask for New Years off when everyone have things they want to do that day.

“It’s not much, but we could always have a 'Welcome New Year' party,” Sasha suggests.

“You just want an excuse to eat, don’t you?” Connie accuses. But his lips are curved into an excited grin.

Sasha giggles. “There’s a really delicious bakery that opened up. We could get a cake… Or three.”

“Alright! Let’s have this party!”

Eren hopes that Zeke isn’t too disappointed this year.

*

**12/26**

The prediction of snow has all but disappeared from the weather reports.

Eren isn’t so cruel as to say something like “Told you so.” So instead, he makes Zeke’s favorite omelet in hopes that it’ll cheer up his brother for today.

“It could still change,” Zeke mumbles to himself.

A glance at how warm the temperature will be for the next few days makes Eren doubtful. Even though Eren didn’t say anything, Zeke seems to understand Eren’s expression.

He sighs. “Rainy New Years again, huh? No fireworks yet again.”

Eren cuts a portion of his own omelet and puts it on Zeke’s plate.

“W-whua? Eren, you don’t need to do that. You’re going to need all the energy to deal with your patients and higher ups.”

“You’re going to need this to deal with crushing Zofia’s wish,” Eren reasons.

“I’m sure Zofia will understand,” Zeke says. “She’s a very smart girl. We live in an area where it doesn’t snow a lot. She’ll be able to see a White New Years if she moves to a colder area once she gets older.”

But Zeke has been looking forward to a White New Years since before they met four years ago. Eren knows that this isn’t really something that they can control. But he feels peeved at the weather anyways.

Zeke laughs, probably understanding Eren’s feeling. He squeezes Eren’s hand.

“Thank you. But I promise I’ll be okay.”

Eren pretends to think about that for a second. “I don’t know if I can believe that.”

As he expected, Zeke picks up on what he’s trying to say. Zeke frowns and lets out a seriously “hm” of thought.

“Well, there’s just one thing I can do.”

Zeke stands up and makes his way to Eren’s side. He pulls out Eren’s chair and rests his hands on either side of Eren, trapping Eren there with a grin.

“Last chance to change your mind,” Zeke warns.

“What a shame. Your chance was wasted,” Eren says.

Zeke sighs dramatically, but he can’t quite keep his grin off his face. Eren waits with anticipation.

He isn’t disappointed.

Zeke’s lips taste of coffee. Eren thinks it’s the best way to start the day.

*

**12/27**

“Oh right, Eren, are you able to take time off to come to the party with the kids? Falco especially was looking forward to seeing you again.”

Eren nods. “Yup. I made them all promise not to call me during that time, too.”

“Even if there’s no snow, at least we’ll have you! That’s more than enough!” Zeke declares with a bright smile.

It makes Eren feel guilty, though. As Mina said, there’s no way that just because they become doctors this schedule would change. To rob the holiday from Zeke completely like this seems rude. Not to mention isn’t that more or less what Grisha did to Zeke and Dina that eventually led to their divorce?

“Sorry,” Eren says. “I wanted to have some time for the two of us this year. But it doesn’t seem possible.”

Zeke looks surprised like he didn’t think Eren thought of him. And isn’t that messed up? Zeke has already accepted that he will be ranked second. It reminds Eren too much of Carla’s defeated smile.

“I… I’ll ask again if I can-”

“Don’t worry so much. You should do what you want to do,” Zeke tells him.

But if that comes at the price of Zeke’s happiness, how can Eren not worry about it?

Zeke’s laughter is filled with so much fondness that Eren can’t help but to feel comforted hearing it.

“Eren, ‘New Years’ is one of many days. Just because it has a special name attached to it doesn’t mean we have to bend over backwards for it. It doesn’t have to be a special day. Any day I spend with you is a treasure for me.”

“Ugh! You’re such a sap!” Eren complains. He has to duck his head so that Zeke won’t see his blush, though.

Hm? Why isn’t Zeke saying anything? Typically, when Eren does this, Zeke teases him lightly about being able to see Eren’s blush. Did something else catch his attention?

Curiosity wins in the end. Eren looks up.

And that’s what Zeke has been waiting for.

Zeke catches Eren’s lips in a quick and chaste kiss.

“Shall I be sappier?”

“Yes please.”

*

**12/28**

“A way to make it snow?” Floch asks, eyebrows hitting his hairline.

Eren sighs. “Too farfetched, right?”

“Even if I had magic, changing nature like that is highly frowned on, isn’t it? Something-something don’t mess with nature or it’ll have dire consequences.”

What harsh rules. But a fantasy writer like Floch would know how these types of things work.

“It’s to make a little girl’s wish come true. Isn’t that a good enough cause to mess with nature?” Eren argues.

Floch makes a face. “Screw up the nature for a single girl? Too cliched, and it won’t sell without a better hook. No, no. Eren, what she wants isn’t actual snow. It’s the magic of seeing snow fall on a 'special’ day.”

No, Eren is pretty sure Zofia wants actual snow.

“If you were to do something like throw cotton outside the window so it looks like snow is falling, she’ll be happy.”

Wouldn’t Zofia (and the other kids at the party) end up so disappointed that they never trust Zeke (or adults in general) ever again afterwards? Even if that would technically make Zofia’s wish come true, Eren feels that the irreparable damage it would do to the kids is not worth it.

“But if it’s raining, wouldn’t the cotton end up soggy?”

Floch frowns. “I don’t know how viable this one would be, but if you don’t mind dropping a few grand, you could rent a place and some fake snow. With a leaf blower, you could make it 'snow’ inside.”

“That sounds like a scene from a movie,” Eren laughs.

“Which is why I said I don’t know how viable it would be.”

Eren sighs. “I’ll keep thinking about it.”

*

**12/29**

"We couldn’t get a single cake!” Mina wails.

Sasha sits on her chair, eyes glazed over in clear defeat. “They were all out. Every single one…”

“S-Sasha? Sasha! L-look, I got you a candy bar! Hang in there!” Connie says, desperately offering her three different types.

But the shock of not getting a single cake must have been too much. She isn’t responding even to the food before her.

“If it’s like that, then I can bake one for us,” Marco offers.

That snaps Sasha back. She turns to Marco with a snarl on her face.

“You think your stupid homemade cake can even come close to the dream that would have been that delicious cake? How dare you?!”

Jean leans on Eren’s shoulder. “Take responsibility, man. We decided on this party to cheer you up.”

“Huh? That’s my fault now?”

Sasha suddenly turns towards them, her eyes promising death. Both Jean and Eren straighten.

“T-that’s right! Eren, doesn’t Mikasa’s family have a bakery in one of their long list of shops they own?” Jean says.

Eren nods. “I-I’ll call her up and ask.”

“We have the money. Money isn’t a problem,” Sasha declares for everyone. “But this cake better be good!”

For Eren’s sake, Eren hopes that Mikasa can deliver.

*

**12/30**

“This is a really busy time for us. But because it’s for you, I moved heaven and earth.”

Probably because it’s Mikasa that says it, Eren believes it.

“Can you deliver three of them to the hospital tomorrow? The last one is going to Marley Private School,” Eren says.

There’s a small pause of silence before Mikasa lets out a small reluctant sigh.

“Because it’s you, I want to. But I don’t think I can convince Uncle Levi to go there.”

At least she’s honest. They must be really out of workers if they have to rely on Levi to deliver cakes, though.

“Okay. Please deliver all the cakes to the hospital. I’ll take care of the rest.”

"It's probably impossible to go out for coffee before the year ends, but let's grab something once the new year sets in.”

“Sounds good.”

*

**12/31**

The thing about any holiday is that people become overly confident that they won’t be hospitalized and they end up doing stupider things than they normally would. There’s more work than usual. It’s doubtlessly why so many of them have been scheduled.

“Have you taken a break?” Jean asks, holding a bottle of sports drink towards Eren.

“Not yet. We were too swamped.”

Eren accepts the drink and takes desperate gulps. He didn’t even notice that he was thirsty. Jean gives him a worried look.

“Weren’t you going to that party for the kids? You should get going or you’ll be late.”

Eren pulls out his phone and groans when he sees the time. He’s going to be late. There’s no arguing that. But if Jean hadn’t said anything, Eren wouldn’t have thought to check the clock.

“Thanks for the reminder,” he tells Jean.

Jean gives him a pat on the back. “Floch’s in the back with the cake. Make sure you thank him for fighting off Sasha.”

*

“On your break?” Floch asks when he spots Eren.

“Sorry for being late,” Eren tells him.

But Floch waves him off. “C'mon, let’s get going. There’s something you need to see.”

*

Eren takes a step outside the hospital and understands immediately why the hospital was so hectic today.

The rain that was predicted has changed to snow.

He breaths out slowly, watching the snow swirl and change directions. How mysterious. Perhaps because he had been so sure that it would rain, seeing the snow around him makes him giddy. Look, Zeke! It’s snowing! After so long, it’s finally…!

“Making it snow for a girl is cliched. But making it snow for a friend who’s about to bring a cake to make a lot of little kids happy? I think we could mess with nature a bit for that,” Floch says.

Eren laughs. "You could become a romance writer with that!"

"Hey. Don't underestimate romance writing! It's too cheesy. It won't sell."

*

They underestimated how bad the traffic gets when it starts snowing. The car hasn’t moved at all since they hit the road. At this rate, wouldn’t Eren be expected back at the hospital the minute he arrives at the party?

“Floch, I’m going to walk,” Eren decides.

“A-are you sure? It’ll be a bit late, but-”

Eren shakes his head. He reaches back and picks up the cake box.

“Wait, wait. Here, let me lend you my jacket. A-and take my hat. Shoot. I don’t think I have a scarf but-”

“This is good. Thanks.”

*

From the hospital to the private school where the party is taking place is ten minutes in the car on a good day. But with the snow falling, it’ll take him quite some time. It occurs to him that this is a bad idea. Of course, it does. He has seen enough dumb decisions end up in the hospital today alone to not recognize this as one.

But standing still in a car is not an option.

The kids are waiting.

Moreover, Zeke is waiting.

Eren can’t disappoint.

*

He doesn’t really remember the journey. Just that he kept moving forward.

The fact that he arrived within an hour without any injury is probably a miracle.

But Eren isn’t going to complain about that because he arrived.

*

“Yo!” he greets everyone with a grin. “I don’t know what state the cake is in. But here it is!”

“Eren!”

Falco surprises him by hugging his leg tightly. Zeke looks like he’s sulking slightly at having been beaten to the punch. Eren gives Zeke a lazy smile.

Zofia stares at Eren with wide eyes, her eyes staring especially at the slowly melting snow on him. “I-is it…?”

Oh, have they not noticed? Then again, Eren also didn’t notice that it was snowing until Floch took him outside. And it looks like they kept the kids distracted with a movie while waiting for the cake. Of course, no one realized it.

Eren grins. He puts the cake down on the table and thanks Yelena when she immediately moves to cut the cake for them.

“Zofia, what did you ask Santa for this year?” Eren asks.

She blushes and stammers, “F-for it to snow. B-but I know you can’t change nature without dire consequences and-”

“Why don’t you see what's outside first?”

*

The kids’ excited shouts are indeed worth the hassle of running all the way here.

But more so than that, the feeling of Zeke’s arm around his shoulders before Zeke presses a light kiss against his head makes Eren’s heart flutter.

“Did I do good or what?” Eren brags.

Zeke chuckles and squeezes Eren’s shoulder. “The best. Thank you.”

Eren can’t quite control his face to keep cool in front of the kids. But since it’s a special day and all, he supposes it’s fine to let his brother see him blush and smile in happiness.

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> **1/1**
> 
> Eren grimaces at the thermometer. On one hand, he supposes getting a light cold after running through the streets in the snow isn’t so bad. But he was hoping his reward for his hard work wouldn’t be a punishment. Not to mention starting the new year with a fever is not a promising sign.
> 
> “I called the hospital to let them know what happened,” Zeke says as he walks in with a plate of hot soup. “So until you’re 100% better, I’ll take care of you.”
> 
> Scratch that.
> 
> “Are you going to feed me as well, Nurse Zeke?” Eren asks.
> 
> Zeke laughs. “Of course!”
> 
> This is the best reward.


End file.
